Hoisting apparatus.



H. B. DOHER'TY,

HOISTING APPARATUS.

"rue/mom FILED SEPT. 18. 1914.

1,244,301 Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

97 as as Fig.1.

Witnesses. I lnvenlof.

Harry B Doherty, W W. I BYMeW H. 8. DOHERTY.

HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPHCATION FILED SEPT. 18. 1914.

Patentefl Oct, 23, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Witnesses.

H. B. DOHERTY.

HOISTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION nuzo SEPT. is. m4.

1,244,391. v Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' 87 Witnesses. v I lnvenTon Harry B. Doheriy,

0m 9.5mm. yymM I :AUys.

HARRY B. IDOHERTY, EiTJEltEETI, Ml'lS-SAGHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 'IO JAMES M. MCCLELLON, OF EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS.

Horsrnve ArrARATUs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

Application filed September 18, 1914; Serial No. 862,410.

To all 20 ham. it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY B. DoHnR'rY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Everett, county of Middlesen, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Hoisting Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to hoisting apparatus and has for its object to provide a novelconstruction by which the operation and control of the hoisting bucket or grab is simplified. One familiar type of hoisting apparatus is that in which the hoisting bucket is operated by a hoisting rope and an opening and closing rope which are wound on suitable, drums that are loosely tion and frequent adjustment in order to keep them in proper operative condition.

The present invention has for one of its objects to simplify hoisting apparatus by eliminating all friction clutches, brakes, etc, and the more or less complicated system of levers required to'operate them. I accomplish this end by connecting each drum directly to its operating engine without the interposition of clutches, and provide a novel controlling device for the engine by which the engine itself is made use of to hold the drum at anyQpoint as well as to operate the drum positively in either direction. a In order to illustrate my invention I have shown it as it might be embodied ina coal-handling tower,although I desire to state that the essential features of the invention are applicable to hoisting apparatus generally and that the invention is not limited to any particular type of apparatus for this purpose.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic view of a coal-tower embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional and a part diagrammatic view of the engine for operating the opening and closing rope;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the means for operatingthe trolley rope;

Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view through the throttle valve for the engine shown in Fig. 5 is a section on substantially the line zu--m, Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is'a detail view of a portion of a safety device used in connection with a counterweight for the grab;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line -y, Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the safety brake.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic plan view of one of the engines.

As stated above, I have illustrated my invention as it might be applied to a coalhandling tower of usual construction and which involves the framework 1 having the boom 2 extending therefrom on which opcrates the usual trolley 3 that controls the movement horizontally or" the hoisting element herein shown as a grab or bucket 5. This grab or bucket is of the wellknown type comprising'two jaws capable of movement toward andffrom each other and which is operatedbytwo ropes 6 and 7, the rope '6 constituting a hoisting rope by which the bucket is raised' or lowered, and the rope 7 constituting the opening and closing rope by whichsaid bucket is opened and closed. These ropesrun up around guide pulleys 8 supported bythe frame 1 andthence pass to drums 9 and 10, respectively, on which theyare wound. The trolley 3 has connected thereto a trolley rope 11 which extends around a pulley 12 at the end of the boom 2 and thence passestothe trolley-rope-operatingldevice, The trolley is drawn outwardly toward the end of the boom by the trolley rope 11 and the boom may be inclined slightly so that the trolley will return to its position shown in Fig. 1 by gravity. The construction asthus far described may be such as is commonly found in coal-handling towers of this general description.

In my invention I connect the drums 9 ancl 'lO directly to the engines by which they are operated and provide a simple means for controlling each engine so that each drum can be rotated in either direction or can be locked in any desired position by the simple manipulation of a lever or treadle. It will be understood, of course, that the engines by which the drums 9 and 10 are operated are of the usual double crank ta: riet commonly used for actuating the drums of hoisting apparatus.

In order to simplify the construction I have shown the engines for controlling the drums 9 and 10 in diagram only in Fig. 1, the engine cont-rolling the drum 9 being indicated at 13 and that controlling the drum 10 being indicated at 1%. These engines comprise the usual cylinders have pistons therein which are directly connected to the drums by 11163118 016 cranks and connecting rods 15. Since each drum 9 and 10 is directly and permanently connected to its engine it follows that neither drum can rotate in either direction except as thecnglue to which it is coupled is operated and my invention provides a simpleconstruction for controlling and operating each engine in either direction therebycontrolling the oprat-ion oat the correspendingv drum.

Inasmuch asthe two enginesare' alike in construction, a description of one will suffice. The cylinder 1% has the usual steam chest 18 associated therewith in which the engine valve operates, and the engine valve is provided with a valve stem 17 which is operated troin'a link motion, the latter com prising the link 16 connected at opposite ends to the arms 19 of two eccentrics 2O nounted on the shaft of the drum 10. The link 16 is shiitablo relative to the valve stem 17 thereby to reverse the direction of the engine as usual in link motions.

I have provided a simple operating device by which the admission of the steamto the steam chest 18 and the position of the link 16 are controlled simultaneously so that whenever steam is admitted to the steam chest, the link 16 will be properly set for operating the engine in either one direction or the other. The admission of steam to the 2-? with the steam chest 18. The piston valve 13 is hollow and is provided with two sets oi ports 28 and 29 which are separated by the imported portion 30 of the piston. The casing 22 is provided with an annular space 31 which communicates with the inlet port 2%. When "the piston valve is in its central position with the portion 30 opposite the inletport, as shown in Fig. 2. thethrottle is moved in either direction so as to bring either of the ports 28 or 29 opposite the inlet port 24,"then steam will be admitted to the cylinder as will be obvious by an inspection or" Figs. 4 and 5. This throttle valve is provided with a stem 32 which is connected to a lever 33 pivoted at 3% to bracket or support 35. The end of the lever 33 is connected at 36 to an operating cord 37 that passes around direction pulleys 38 secured to the bracket and ezitends to a lever ortreadle 39 by which the cord can be operated. This lever or treadle will be placed in any position convenient for the operator. When the treadle or lever is operated in one direction the throttle valve will be moved to bring the port- 29 opposite the inlet port-24C,

centering the valve automatically with the imported portion 30 opposite the inlet port 2% whenever the lever 39 is released. convenient construction for this is shown in Fig. 3, wherein the piston rod 32 is provided with a collar 390 which is fast th reto, and two centering springs 40 and 4:1 are carried by the rod 32 either side of thecollar 890, saidsprings engaging arms or "bearings 2 and 43 extending from the bracket 35. This arrangem nt of springs tends normally to hold the throttle valve in its central or closed position. The throttle valve has associated therewith means for operating'the link 16' :so that when said valve is moved from one extrcme position to the otherthe link will be shifted-thereby to reverse the engine. While any suitable construction capable of accome plisl ng tl is may )e employed. Ih'a've here in shown device which comprises a link actuating piston eewlnch operates lIl'ElCj llfl l e5, the piston rod 46 of said piston being-connected-to an elbow-lever e7 pivoted at L8 which in turn is connected to the link '16 by the connection 4:9. When the "piston 44 is in its elevated position as shown in the link is in one extreme posit-ion while when the piston 44 is in itslowered position the link is shifted into its'other po sition. The piston as is actuated by suitable motive fluid which is admitted to the cylinder through two pipesoO and 5-1, and the ad mi sionofthis motive fluid iscontrolled by a valve '52 operating in valve cas'ing53, said valve being connected-bya rod 54 with the-lever 33. The valve '52 is so'c'onstructed that when it is inits central position (which is the position it will assume when the lever 33 and throttle valve 23 are in theircentral positions) the ports leading to both pipes 50 and 51 will be. closed, while whenthe throt- One tation. use of brakes and friction clutches for contle valve is in the position shown in Fig. 4 the port leading to the pipe 51 will be opened, and when the throttle valve is in the opposite position with the port 28 in register with the inlet port 24., then the port leading to the pipe 50 will be opened. With this construction it will be seen that whenever the throttle valve is shifted into position to admit steam to the steam chest 18 the valve 52 will be shifted to admit steam into one or the other end of the cylinder whereby the link 16 will be shifted to cause the engine to go forward or backward. The valve 52 is shown as a hollow piston valve having two portclosing portions .56 and 57 and the valve casing is provided with an inlet port 58 and a discharge port 59. When the valve 52 is raised the port communicating with the pipe 51 will be uncovered and will be brought into communication with the exhaust pipe 59, while the port communicating with the pipe will be uncovered and will be in communication with the inlet port 58. When the valve 52 is lowered the steam will be admitted to the pipe 51 through the center of the valve 52, while steam will be exhausted through the pipe 50. Inasmuch as the valve 52 is connected to the lever 33, said valve operates simultaneously with the throttle valve 21, the connections being such that whenever the throttle valve is shifted to admit steam to the steam chest, the link 16 will be thrown into one or the other of its extreme positions. To rotate the drum 10 in one direction, therefore, involves merely shiftingthe lever 39 in onedirection, while to rotate the drum in the opposite direction involves merely shifting the lever 89 into an opposite position. a

To hold the drum stationary it is merely 1 necessary to bring the engineto 'rest and then to open the throttlesuliiciently tomaintain the'ne'cessary pressure on the piston to hold it at one end of its stroke. The engine,

' and consequently the operation of the drum,

controlled entirely from the lever 89, and by proper manipulation of this lever the drum maybe rotated in either direction and at any speed, or may be locked against ro- This construction thus obviates the been commonly used. a

Whenever the lever 39 is released it will automatically assume its central position, thus closing the throttle 21. Similar mechanism isused for controlling the engine 13, this mechanism being operated by a lever ZWlO'to which cords'370 are connected that in turn lead to a lever 330 that controls the throttle valve 210 for the engine 13', said levers 3900 and 330 operating in a manner similar to the levers 39 and 33.

In order to provide a simpleconstruction for operating the trolley rope 11, I employ trolling the drum, such as have heretofore an operating cylinder 60 having therein a piston which has a piston rod 61 carrying at its end a plurality of sheaves 62 which are received in bights in the trolley rope 11,the latter passing around sheaves 63 mounted in the frame 1. The end of the trolley rope is secured to the frame, as shown at 64. When the piston 65 is moved downwardly in the cylinder 60 the sheaves 62 operate to take up the trolley rope 11. thereby drawing the trolley 3 outwardly on the boom. The stroke of the piston 65 is of such a length that when the piston is at its lowest point the trolley will be at the end of the boom, W'hen the piston 65 moves upwardly in the cylinder 60 the trolley will be. moved in wardly on the boom by the action of gravity onthe bucket. The means for controlling the movement of the piston 65 is shown in Fig. 3 and it comprises a piston valve 66 similar in construction to the valve 52 and operating in a casing 67 having an inlet port 68 and an exhaust port 69, as well as two ports '70 and '71 that lead to opposite ends of the cylinder 60. The piston valve 66 has L a valve stem 72 which is connected to an operating lever 73 pivoted at 74. The end of the lever 73 is connected to an operating cord 7 similar to the cords 37 and 370,'this cord 75 passing over direction pulleys 76 sustained by the bracket 77 and extending to a lever or other controlling device 78. This piston valve 66 is also preferably provided with the centering springs 40 and 41 as described relative to the throttle valve. By this construction the movement of the actuator 78 in one direction will draw the trolley 3 to the end of the boom, while its movemert in the opposite direction will raise thepiston 65 into the position shown in Fig. 1, so that the trolley can return to its normal position by gravity. The piston 65 can also be stopped and held in any intermediate position by proper manipulation of the valve 66 through the lever, treadle or other controlling device 7 8. It will be seen from the above that all clutches for clutching the drums to'their operating shaftsand brakes for locking the drums against" rotation are done away with and that the operation of the drums 9 and 10 and of the trolley-ropeactuating device is controlled directly from theengines, and that each of the engines is controlled by a single lever or treadle.

In devices of this nature it is customary to provide means for counterweighting the grab or bucket 5 by connecting to the drum 10 a rope or connection '60 which is wound thereon in a direction opposite to thatin which the rope 6 is wound and which is connected to a counterweight 81. As herein shown, this rope 80 passes over a direction pulley 82 sustained by the frame and thence around a pulley 83 to which the counterweight'81 isattached, the end of the rope 80 being secured to the frame. With this construction the counterweight 81 will always be applied to the drum 10 to counter balance the weight oi. the grab l have herein illustrated a safety device which antomatically comes into play to sustain the COUHtQIWQlghteither the rope 80 or 6 should become broken. is herein shown, the count rweight has connected thereto a safety con ection .5 which leads over a pullev and thence extends to a drum 8? about which it is wound a plurality of times, said connection leading thence around a pulley 88 back 4 the counter veight. Th s cable 85 thus 11 an endless connection. The drum 8? has associated therewith a friction brake comprising two connected brake member and hralre-oper ing lever 91 pivoted one of the members at and adapt ed to engage the end he other member. ed the brake 1s il hcn the lever 91 loose, but it the lever 91 is depressed the brake will become aoplied, as will be obvious. This lever 91 is provided with a weight 9% which tends to apply the brake, but under normal conditions the lever 91 is held elevated so that the brake will be loose. If, however, either the connection 80 or the cable =3 breaks or becomes severed, then the lever 01 is released and the brake is applied, thus locking the safety connection 85 against movement so that it wil come into play to sustain the counterweight 81. The lever 91 is normally held in its elevated position by a connection which leads to lever 96 pivoted to the rame at 9. and carrying at its other end a. connection 98 to which the end of the cable 80 is secured. The lever 96 is acted upon by springs 102 which are sustained by supporting member 103 carried pand, thus rocking the lever 96 and allowing the brake-actuating lever 91 to drop sufiicientlv to applv the brake to the drum S7. The weight on the end of lever is sufficient to operate the brake 90, but the springs 102 are used to insure immediate action.

I have herein shown means actuated by the piston for closing the valve 66 whenever said piston reaches either end of its stroke. The piston rod 61 has an arm 161 connected thereto provided with fingers 162,

63 so situated that whenever said piston approaches the end of its stroke one or the other oi said fingers will engage the lever 73 inseam andmove it into its central orclosed position. The piston rod 61 is provided with a book 10 1 adapted to be engaged into aneye 165 on the trainel thereby to hold said piston at the top end of its stroke when the apparatus is not in use.

I claim:

1. lo a hoisting apparatus thecombination with a hoisting element, of a cable connected thereto and by which it is operated, a drum on which said cable is wound, an engine permanently connected to said drum, a

hrottle valve for admitting the steam to or shutting it or? from the e; gins, a reversing device for controlling the direction of operation of the cngii a lever for operating the throttle valve, and meansitor operating the reversing device by movement of said lever whereby ooth the speed and direction of operation of the engine are controlled from a single level: 7

2 in a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of a cable connected thereto and bv which it is operated, a drum on which said cable is wound, an en gine permanentlyconnected to the .lrum, a throttle valve for the engine, an actuator connected to the throttle and adapted when in either one of two positions to open the throttle, a reversing device for the engine, and connections between said reversing device and actuator by which in one position ot the actuator said reversing device is operative to cause the engine to run in one directiou and in the other position of said actuator said. device is operative to cause the engine to run in the opposite direction.

3. 111 a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of two cables conn cted thereto and by which it is operated, a drum on which each cable is wound, a separate engine permanently connected to each drum, throttle valve for each engine, an actuator for each throttle: valve and which operates in ither one of two positions to open said valve, ,a reversing device for each engine, and connections between each reversing device and the corresponding actun-tor whereby in one position of the actuagine permanently connected to said drum,

a'throttle valve for said engine which is opened to admit steam thereto in either of two extreme positions and which is closed in an intermediate position, means to operate the throttle, and engine-reversing mechs anism associated with and operated in unison with said throttle.

5. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, oi a cable connected thereto by which it is operated, a drum on which said cable is wound, an engine permanently connected to said drum, a throttle valve for said engine which is opened to admit steam thereto in either of two extreme positions and which is closed in an intermediate position, a lever by which the position of the valve is at all times controlled, and an engine-reversing mechanism connected to said lever.

'6. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of a cable con nected thereto and by which it is operated, a drum on which said cable is wound, an engine permanently connected to said drum, a throttle valve for the engine which is opened to admit steam thereto in either of two extreme positions and is closed in an intermediate position, said engine having a link motion by which it is reversed, means for operating the throttle valve, and means actuated thereby to operate the link motion.

7. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of an engine operating said element, a throttle valve for said engine which is opened to admit steam thereto in either of two extreme positions.

and is closed in an intermediate position, means tending normally to hold the throttle valve in its intermediate position, and an engine-reversing mechanism, and means to operate the latter when the throttle valve is moved into either of its two extreme positions.

8. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a tower having a boom, of a hoisting element, means for operating the latter, a trolley on said boom by which the position of said element longitudinally of the boom is controlled, a trolley-actuating rope, an upwardly-directed trolley-actuating cylinder having a piston therein, and a connection between said piston and said trolley-actuating rope by which the trolley is drawn outwardly on the boom when the piston is forced downwardly in the cylinder.

9. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a tower having a boom, of a hoisting element, means for operating the latter, a trolley on said boom by which the position of said element longitudinally of the boom is controlled, the action of gravity on said element tending to move the trolley toward the inner end of the boom, a trolleyactuating rope, an upwardly directed trolleyactuating cylinder having a piston therein, said piston having a piston rod, and a sheave on said rod engaging said rope, downward movement of the piston in the cylinder drawing the trolley toward the outer end of the boom.

10. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a tower having a boom, or" a hoist ing element, means for operating the latter, trolley on said boom by which the position of said element longitudinally of the boom is controlled, at trolleyactuating rope, a vertically-extending trolley-actuating cylinder having a piston therein, said piston having a piston rod, a plurality of sheaves carried by said rod, and a plurality of sheaves sustained by said tower, said trolley-actuating rope being passed about said sheaves.

11. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of a hoisting drum by which said element is operated, a steam engine connected to said drum to actuate the latter, a throttle valve to control the supply of steam to the engine, a throttle-valveactuating device, and engine-reversing means actuated by said throttlevalve-actuating device.

12. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a coimterweighted hoistingelement, of a cable connected thereto and by which it is operated, a drum on which the cable is wound, a reversible engine connected to the drum by which it is rotated in both directions, a throttle valve to control the supply of steam to the engine, a throttlevalve-actuating device, and engine-reversing means operated by said throttle-valveactuating device.

18. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of a cable connected thereto and by which it is operated, a drum on which said cable is wound an engine permanently connected to said rum, a throttle valve for said engine which is operative to admit steam thereto in either one of two extreme positions and which is closed in an intermediate position, a lever by which the position of said valve is controlled, an engine-reversing device, and means for actuating the latter by movement of the lever whereby when the lever is in one position the engine will'run in one direction and when the lever is in the other position the engine will run in the opposite direction.

14. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of a hoisting drum by which said element is operated, a reversible engine for operating said drum, said engine constituting the sole means for controlling the operation of the drum, an

, engine-controlling lever, a throttle valve for the engine, and connections between said lever and both the throttle valve and the reversing device whereby both the speed and direction of operation of the engine are controlled by said lever.

15. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with a hoisting element, of a hoisting drum by which said element is operated, an engine connected to said drum to actuate the latter, a throttle valve for controlling the ad mission of steam to the engine, engine-reversing mechanism by which the direction of operation of the engine is controlled, and a single actuating device connected to both 5 said thi'ott e and engine-reversing device.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HARRY B. DOHER-TY. Witnesses LOUIS 0. SMITH, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND.

Qepies of this patent may be ebtainerl for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ofEetents, Washington, 33. 3. 

